Jefferson airplane--I'm trapped and I am enclosed, but I won't complain, I'll open all the windows...

There were over 15,000 applicants for JET, and I made it to the second round. You know, the one where America phones in and votes? Anyway, in February, we went to New Orleans to do an interview. I was so worried about being late for my 4:20 appointment that I got there at 2. The plus side to that is I met quite a few incredible people. (Side note: My first time in the Big Easy, and it was Mardi Gras week. It was my first time at an aquarium, too. And to have beignets, at Cafe Du Monde. I sat where Dustin Hoffman sat in "Runaway Jury." My butt touched Dustin's! It was a great trip in all, and then some.)
In April, I got a letter saying I was selected for an alternate position. So, not no, but not yes. Fantastic. More waiting. Even though there was still a chance I wouldn't get to go, there was still a lot of paperwork to do and appointments to keep in case they upgraded me.
They hadn't by the time I graduated on May 5th. Even though I thought I trusted God, I was getting panicky that I was off my rocker on what I was supposed to do, and the infinitely worse question of when. Not only that, while I waited I would basically just be at Mom's house...waiting. I wanted one week to relax, and promised Mom on the 8th that had they not called by the end of the week (the 12th) that I would seek gainful employment. On Thursday, the 10th, at 12:45 they called to let me know I had been given full ALT status.
By this time, everyone I had spoken to had their placements, but I was backlogged, due to the fact I was a late bloomer. Awww. Following the advice of friends, especially the Japanese nationals at college, I requested anywhere except Tokyo. And when these friends were recommending only visiting Tokyo, they talked about their hometowns. I also had the advice of a few friends who have been there, and of their favorite places. About a month went by, starting with pondering if I'd be in the mountains, by the ocean, in a big city, next to a volcano, or just where in the world (well, in Japan, but more specific). Then I moved to hoping for specific regions. After a month, I just wanted to be anywhere, because that meant I was going, that they hadn't been too zealous in upgrading the candidates and I was part of the overbooked crowd. I remember praying that I would get some sort of email or phone call that would let me know if I needed to send in more forms or something. The next day, I got an email telling me I'm in a tiny town (5x bigger than my home town of 2,000! Gasp!) in Yamaguchi. There are 4 distinct not too extreme seasons in this prefecture shaped like Australia (tee hee) that is, according to quite a few guides, one of the most beautiful in a stunning country. SCORE! "Gateway of the Mountains," here I come!